Automatic draft regulator



Sept. 26,1939. 9. REICHERT 2, 2

4 A UTOIATIC DRAFT REGULATOR Filed Feb. 1, 1937- 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR PAUL REICHERT ATTORN EY P. REICHERT 2,174,277

AUTOMATIC DRAFT REGULATOR Filed Feb. 1, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiKF J2 5/. if i 6 50 60 INVENTOR PAUL FE/CHERT A? ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to draft regulating devices for coal consuming furnaces and more particularly to types used in heating dwelling houses.

Such furnaces, in order to operate economically, should be stoked at intervals according to the temperature required, the fuel used, and other variable conditions. I

Under ordinary circumstances the drafts are manually controlled by an attendant throughout the day and the fire banked at night with the drafts nearly or quite closed; such procedure results in a lowering of the temperature of the premises towards morning to an undesirable degree.

Having these matters in mind it is an object of this invention to provide positive means for opening the drafts of the furnace at a predetermined early time, whereby the fuel may burn briskly, and the steam or hot water leading to the radiators produce a desired warmth at a designated hour.

A further feature of the invention is in the provision of a time clock control, remote from the furnace, to actuate the draft mechanism at will.

Another purpose is to produce a furnace draft control mechanism effective in operation, simple in construction, easily applied to ordinary furnaces, as readily operated as any time keeping clock, and which effects a very considerable saving in the fuel.

These advantageous objects are accomplished by the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, constituting an essential component of this disclosure, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention showing its application to a conventional furnace.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the remote control mechanism for the draft.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the same.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, a conventional type of furnace is indicated by the numeral l5, the furnace resting on an ash pit base l6 provided with a door in which are air inlet openings having a control flap [8 normally closed by gravity.

The main body of the furnace, immediately above the base, has a manually controllable draft inlet l9, above which is a. fuel supply door 20 which may, or may not, have adjustable air passages, and thereabove is a cold air inlet 2|, having a closure flap 22.

The top 23 of the furnace is domed and leading through it is elbow 24 of a funnel 25 connected to a chimney stack 26, the elbow being supplied with a manually operable air inlet 21.

As will be understood, an annular space intervenes the furnace wall and fire box in which water is contained for the dissemination of heat through piping to radiators wherever it is required, the system being indicated by the discharge and return pipes 28-29 respectively. A water height indicator, temperature and steam pressure gages are ordinarily included, but not shown.

A stand pipe 30 supports a diaphragm enclosed in a casing 3| and operating plunger 32 when under a definite pressure, and extending above the casing, olfset from the plunger, are lugs 33, between which is pivotally supported a damper bar 34 against which the diaphragm actuated plunger 32 abuts, this bar being ordinarily provided with adjustable weights.

The foregoing is generally descriptive of an ordinary domestic heating furnace and is given for the purpose of illustration only, no claim being made to its construction.

Mounted on one of the upright interior walls of the building in which the furnace is located, at a point remotely thereabove, is a bracket 35 having a shelf 36, an upright rear plate 37 and a downwardly extending rectangular support plate 38.

A clock 40 of the common alarm type, rests on the shelf 36 and is provided with an elongated alarm spring winding stem 4|, the outer end of the stem being engaged in a spindle 42 having a bearing in the plate 31. Adjustable on the spindie is a sleeve 43 provided with a set screw 44 to tighten or release it at will, as required in winding and setting the alarm at any desired hour.

Rigidly fixed in the sleeve 43 is a radial pin 45 loosely engaged in an opening in a curved hook 46 partially encircling the sleeve and having an upturned slotted end to adjustably engage the end portion of a flexible, non-stretchable element 48, preferably a light chain composed of spherical links connected one to another, such pull chains being commonly used in operating electrical lights, etc., etc.

The opposite, pendant end of the chain 48 is engaged with the free end of a plate lever 49 hinged to the outer edge of the shelf 36.

Another similar chain 50 is attached to the free end of the lever 49, the chain being trained over a guide pulley carried in a bracket 52 attached to the main bracket 35, thence trained under another guide pulley 53, mounted on a stud 54 set in the plate 38.

The continuing chain 50 is attached to a relatively larger pulley 55 freely rotatable on a stud 56 set centrally in the plate 38, the arrangement being such that a pull on the chain 48, by movement of the clock stem, is transmitted to the pulley 55.

Another chain 58, attached at 59 to the end of the chain 50, is trained over the pulley 55 one of its ends 58 being attached to a light counter weight 60 to take up any slackness of the chain in the pulley grooves; the other end of the chain 58 extends downwardly, through one or more floors, to become fixed in the upper end of a thin, fiate vertical bar 65 provided with a plurality of perforations by which it may be adjustably engaged to the rear end of the damper bar 35, which is also provided with perforations for the purpose of adjustment.

The front end portion of the damper bar is also spacedly perforated, and in one of the perforations is adjustably attached a lug '66 to which is secured a chain 61 operatively engaged with the ash door fiap [B by which draft may be provided for the fuel on the grate above the ash pit.

Another lug 68 on the front portion of the bar 34 has attached to it a chain 69 trained over a pulley 10, carried by a bracket 1| fixed on the flooring over the furnace, the continuation of the chain being operatively engaged with the cold air inlet fiap 22 at the upper part of the furnace.

Surrounding the funnel 25 are a pair of split clamps I5 having in reaching arms 16 carrying adjustable upper and lower pivot screws ll, between which is a spindle 18 passing through the funnel and to which the damper 80 is secured controlling the passage through the fiue.

Fixed to the upper portion of the spindle 18 is a pulley 82 around which is trained a chain 83, one portion 83 passing over a roll 84 mounted horizontally in a frame, supported in any convenient manner, the chain being connected to the lower end of the bar'65.

The opposite portion 83" of the chain passes under the roll '84 and 'is attached to the upper part of the bar 65, the arrangement being such that, as the bar is raised or lowered by the clock mechanism, the damper will be opened and closed correspondingly, and in synchronism to the draft controls I8 and 22.

Returning now to Figure 3, the wheel 55 will be seen to have a plurality of ratchet teeth 86 in one of its rims, these teeth being engageable by a manually operable dog 8'! pivoted on an adjustable bracket 88 carried by the plate 38.

Partially encircling the periphery of the wheel 55 is a fixed segment 89 provided with a scale 90 graduated to represent pounds pressure of steam in the furnace boiler, the segment being attached to the plate 38 by a screw 9|,

At the ends of the segment are stops 9293, respectively upper and lower, these stops being adjustable to limit the travel of a pointer 94 attached to the outer face of the wheel 55, the view showing approximately five pounds pressure.

Upon releasing the dog 87, which is used to retain the drafts open, the wheel will partially rotate, due to the weight of the bars 34- 65, and the manual controls used throughout the day.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and sought to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an automatic draft regulator, the combination with a furnace having vent openings provided with closures, a clock mechanism remote from said furnace, said mechanism including a winding stem, a collar adjustably secured on said stem, a chain engaged on said collar and automatically releasable therefrom when the collar reaches a definite relative position and means operative upon the release of said chain to open said vent openings.

2. In an automatic draft regulator, the combination with a furnace having a funnel, a damper pivotally mounted in a vertical plane in said funnel, means for adjusting said pivot mountings supports for the damper mounts clamped on said funnel, a bar for actuating the furnace vents and said damper, a clock, said clock having a winding stem, a collar adjustable thereon, said collar having catches, and a flexible connection releasably engaged with said catches to actuate said bar at a predetermined hour.

3. In an automatic draft regulator, the combination with a furnace having a funnel, a damper pivotally mounted in a vertical plane in said funnel, supports for the damper mounts clamped on said funnel, a bar .for actuating the furnace vents and said damper, a clock mechanism having an alarm settable at any predetermined hour, and automatically releasable operative connections between the alarm winding stem and said bar.

PAUL REICHERT. 

